The auctioneer suddenly realized what had happened, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead! This was a huge mess! The items had been destroyed in their auction house, and he was undeniably responsible! He frantically shouted towards the backstage area, "Security! Security, come quick! Quickly!"
Despite being condemned by everyone, Xu Kuo remained calm, even with a hint of sneer. He raised the broken goblet in his hand and addressed the enraged crowd, saying indifferently, "What's the rush? Open your eyes wide and take a good look at what this is."
"What are you looking at! You think you're right to destroy things?"
"Exactly! What's so interesting about him! Arrest him right now!"
"Don't listen to his excuses! I think he's just deliberately causing trouble!"
The crowd was indignant, and no one was willing to listen to Xu Kuo, let alone go to see the broken section. In their eyes, Xu Kuo was just making a death throes.
Xu Kuo was not annoyed, but slowly displayed the broken part of the dagger to everyone.
The fracture surface is not smooth, but it clearly exposes the internal material.
It wasn't the rustic color of bronze, nor the rust left by time; instead, at the very center of the fracture, a single point gleamed—a dazzling, silvery-white metallic luster! It looked like…like steel or alloy used in modern industry!
The auction hall, which had been bustling with noise just moments before, fell completely silent!
Everyone's eyes were fixed on that point of silver, their anger and curses frozen in place, replaced by utter shock!
"What...what is that?" someone asked in a trembling voice.
"Why is there light inside?"
"No...no way..."
The purple hue on Bai Donghua's face vanished instantly, leaving him deathly pale! He staggered forward, staring intently at the broken end, his lips trembling as if he had witnessed the most unbelievable thing: "No... impossible... this is absolutely impossible... my Shang Dynasty bronze jue..."
That blinding silvery white, like a needle, pierced his heart! A fake! It really was a fake! And made in such a clumsy way! He spent two hundred yuan on a counterfeit with a modern metal core?!
The auctioneer's face was extremely grim, and sweat streamed down his temples.
He never imagined that this bronze jue, consigned by a "veteran collector" and preliminarily appraised by them, would turn out to be such a thing! If word got out, what would become of their auction house's reputation?!
In the eerie silence, a series of hurried footsteps sounded.
Several security guards in uniforms and carrying wooden sticks finally arrived! They had only heard someone shouting "arrest someone!" when they rushed over aggressively and surrounded Xu Kuo without saying a word!
"Don't move!"
Bai Donghua and the auctioneer were startled when they saw the security guards arrive, and instinctively tried to stop them. After all, it seemed that Xu Kuo... had helped them? Exposed a fake?
"Wait a minute..." the auctioneer was about to speak.
But it was too late!
One of the security guards who rushed to the front, influenced by the shouts earlier, assumed that Xu Kuo was a thug. He swung his thick wooden stick, which whistled through the air, and smashed it down hard on Xu Kuo's arm!
"Watch out!" Zhou Changke exclaimed in alarm!
Everyone around felt a chill run down their spines! That blow looked incredibly powerful; if it landed squarely, even if the arm wasn't broken, the skin would be torn off! This country bumpkin was probably in for a world of hurt!
In the blink of an eye!
Xu Kuo didn't even turn his head; his left hand shot out like lightning!
"Smack!"
Instead of the expected sound of bones cracking, we heard the sound of the wooden stick being forcefully cut!
The heavy wooden stick was only inches away from Xu Kuo's arm, yet he held it firmly in his hand, without it moving an inch!
The entire venue fell into dead silence once again! Everyone stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what they were seeing!
The security guard was also stunned. He had used eight-tenths of his strength, yet he was caught so easily? He tried to pull the stick back, but found that the other person's hand was like an iron clamp, and he couldn't budge it at all!
Xu Kuo frowned slightly, seemingly annoyed at being disturbed. He flicked his wrist, which was gripping the wooden stick, and a crisp "crack" was heard!
He actually broke that solid wooden stick, as thick as a bowl, with incredible ease...!
The broken stick fell to the ground with a dull thud.
The security guard who had made the move cried out "Oh my god!" and turned pale. He took several steps back, staring at Xu Kuo in terror as if he were looking at a monster! The other security guards were also too frightened to step forward.
Bai Donghua, the auctioneer, Zhou Changke, and everyone else present felt like their brains were about to explode.
Is this...is this even human? He breaks bronze artifacts like they're biscuits, and now he can snap such a thick wooden stick in half with ease? What does this kid do for a living?
Xu Kuo threw away the broken wooden stick in his hand, clapped his hands, and coldly swept his eyes over the still-shaken auctioneer and Bai Donghua: "What? I helped you find a fake and prevented even greater losses, and this is how you 'thank' me? You even want to arrest me?"
The cold voice made the auctioneer jump. He quickly forced a smile that looked more like a grimace and bowed deeply in apology: "Misunderstanding! Misunderstanding! Sir, I'm so sorry! We were rash! We were wrong! Please forgive us!"
All he wanted to do now was get rid of this troublesome person as soon as possible. This was an appraisal master; who could afford to offend him! He quickly added, "Don't worry, our auction house will definitely give you an explanation for this matter and will not let you suffer in vain!"
Bai Donghua also came to his senses at this moment, but his focus was not on this.
He grabbed the auctioneer's arm, his eyes bloodshot, and his voice hoarse as he demanded, "Why?! Tell me! What's going on with this?! Why is it fake?!"
His heart was bleeding! Losing two hundred yuan was a small matter, but losing face like this was a huge deal! Bai Donghua's reputation, built up over many years in the antique world, had been utterly ruined today!
The auctioneer's face darkened further at his question, and he stammered, "Mr. Bai, please calm down. We...we still need to investigate the specifics...I'll give you a detailed answer later!"
At this moment, the way everyone in the auction hall looked at Xu Kuo had completely changed.
It was no longer disdain, no longer mockery, and not just shock, but rather a deep sense of curiosity!
"My goodness, who is this young man? He has such sharp eyes and such great skills!"
"Who just called him a country bumpkin? He's really a hidden talent!"
"He could spot a fake worth two hundred yuan at a glance, and he even dared to break it open in public to inspect it. His courage and eyesight are amazing!"
In an instant, Xu Kuo became the focus of everyone's attention, enjoying immense popularity!
Xu Kuo's gaze swept contemptuously over Bai Donghua, whose face was ashen. "Boss Bai, are you an expert? Two hundred dollars for a piece of junk? Are you blind? You're a complete waste!"
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